Today, everything starts at home. With most families in communities around the world spending more time at home in 2020, there has been an unprecedented surge in demand for outdoor furniture. Outdoor furniture is known by a variety of names: garden furniture, patio furniture, lounge furniture, and conversation sets. Popular examples include dining sets, conversation sets, lounge chairs, portable fire pits, umbrellas, Adirondack chairs, even glazed planters to accessorize the area. Common materials range by region, purpose and personal preference: wooden, bamboo, wicker or rattan, metal, plastic, glass, concrete, and rope.

The finish of outdoor furnishings is important, considering the endurance needed to battle environmental impacts. UV rays, precipitation, wind and humidity are all factors that should be considered from a manufacturing standpoint – as the longevity of a finish, in addition to the quality of construction, is what ultimately determine a product’s lifespan.

Automating the finish of outdoor furniture improves consistency and quality throughout the production process. Depending on the geometry of the part, a number of automated finishing technologies can be deployed to quickly and consistently pump out product to meet production demands. For example, iGiottoApp is a unique 3D spray technology that utilizes an anthropomorphic robot to finish not only the face of a part, but its negative angles as well. iGiotto is ideal for large objects, and objects with unique geometries. Alternatively, for disassembled furniture components that are boxed upon delivery, reciprocating spray systems can achieve a consistent, quality finish at a high speed of production. Both types of spray technologies can be integrated with curing and material handling components to minimize the amount of times each part is touched – minimizing defects and labor costs.

Contact us and discuss your needs with a finishing expert!

Once you had identified the pattern you wished to print, either analogically or digitally, you could get a professional photographer to capture the image or employ a large-sized scanner to generate a file which served as the blueprint for your creation.
Now imagine needing to replace a panel with a pattern you simply don’t have in your archives. Again, you’re faced with two options that do not offer an immediate solution. It takes time to go from identifying the pattern, creating the necessary data, to subsequently printing. Because acquisition and reproduction are two distinct processes and between them lies a need to correctly elaborate the data acquired.
All that for just one panel? And even if it’s for more than one panel, each requirement generates a multi-step process before obtaining the end result. Ideally, you should be able to go from scan to print in one quick step.

Another tool for the smartest of factories is cTracker, which is designed to monitor your production, collect and analyze data instantly providing the necessary information to interact, correct and adjust machinery to maintain optimum performance at all times. And if you’re wondering how to integrate this wealth of data into your own management system, we have the answer: cLink closes the gap between ERP and cTracker so that such data retain their value over time becoming a vital business asset.

cTracker is a super-reliable supervisor, specifically designed to boost your productivity and efficiency. It also allows to manage, command and set the line from a single command point, on site or by using remote controller.

With cTracker and cLink it’s possible to:

1. speed up downtime problem solving
2. reduce the set-up time for the entire line.
3. reduce line management costs thanks to monitoring simplicity.

Learn more about our digital tools and software solutions.

"How can I obtain remote assistance right now? And how do I know if my production process is working well?"

These are just some of the most frequently asked questions about digital technologies, made of software, skills and our people.

We’re talking of UBIQUO, a carefully selected combination of service packs and software solutions designed to enhance your business by acting on all its aspects with a tailored mix of expert consultancy and digital tools.
A 360° package devoted to efficiency, reliability, competence, predictability etc.

Thanks to the tools which constitute UBIQUO, all spheres come into play: digital, virtual and physical.
In whatever circumstances, we support you wherever and whenever you need our services, anywhere in the world.

"OK, but how?"
Thanks to the software, the cTracker and cMaster tools, the Service Packs and remote assistance provided by our professionals.
We can connect quickly and check the operating parameters, the correct interaction with other machines on the line, verify the settings and intervene quickly.

In the décor market, the goal is to obtain prints that reproduce natural materials in a true-to-life manner. Industrial digital printing solutions are increasingly popular in response to rapidly evolving market demands, especially for furniture, packaging and flooring specialists.

Suited to all floor surfaces, furniture and skirting to glass, laminates or plastics, digital printing techniques enable exciting alternatives. Whether it’s wood, MDF or cork, you can digitally print and emboss with exceptional 3D quality. 

We are ready to show you the solutions will make the difference.

Learn more about our Industrial Digital Printing solutions?

Upper and lower panel surface cleaning group

When coating the edges of a flat panel, the operation gives rise to a coating seam which overlaps and extends about 1 mm over the flat panel surface. With a curved radius on one edge, the coating seam will be on one side, but in some cases the radius is present between both the corresponding upper and lower sides of the panel, meaning you will need to deal with 2 overlaps. In simple terms, this overlap is an excess of paint covering a peripheral section of the flat surface, which is often in melamine. This coating seam needs to be removed, but how?

Machines can either be equipped with the necessary sanding belt, even a wide belt spanning the full panel width, or can be sent through a sanding machine after curing. Now, because melamine is relatively soft compared to the cured UV coating seam, this generates uneven wear on the sanding belt, which will have to be replaced before it is fully consumed. Furthermore, to counteract the resistance of the harder UV coating seam, companies may be obliged to use a special sanding device with pads, at extra expense. Whatever the solution, sanding in order to remove the overlap is a problem and incurs unwanted costs.

The simplest way to avoid the use of a special sanding device or run the risk of poor sanding belt optimisation is to remove the UV coating seam before curing. This is managed by our patented surface cleaning group. Complete with a steel roller, turning in the opposite direction with respect to the panel as it transits through the machine, this patented system removes the excess varnish enabling sanding to be performed without any problems. The sanding belt is consumed homogeneously and no extra tooling is required to sand the overlap after curing. Absence of a device removing excess varnish after curing helps avoid potential damage such as superficial micro-cracking, which then leads to infiltration problems.

Moreover, one of the key benefits of this approach are the savings obtained in terms of coating consumption. By removing the overlapping seam before curing, and recycling the coating, users can accumulate significant savings, without mentioning the inferior costs related to all the sanding operations avoided.

Contact us and discuss your needs with a finishing expert.